SUU campus briefs

BASEBALL: The Thunderbirds will set out on their longest road trip of the season this weekend when they play nine games in nine days, beginning at Oral Roberts on Friday night. The stretch will also include a game at Oklahoma and a four-game series at Centenary College.

The Thunderbirds will be coming off the best month for the program this year with a 12-5 mark during the month of April. The win total surpassed the combined victories of February and March and included conference series victories over North Dakota State, IPFW and Western Illinois.

Southern Utah has been able to look to a bevy of talent for hits with seven players batting over .300 this year. True freshman Bo Cuthbertson leads the team with a .412 average with senior Nick Freitas leading the team in home runs (11), RBIs (52), total bases (100) and stolen bases (12).

Steve Johnson and Kyle Melling are neck-and-neck in wins on the hill, with Johnson leading the team with seven wins and Melling close behind with six. Melling leads the team with 40 strikeouts this year.

The T-Birds split their most recent series with Oakland University after a series-opening doubleheader sweep, defeating the Grizzlies by a combined score of 28-11. However, SUU suffered back-to-back one-run losses in games three and four of the series.

Southern Utah Hosting the First of Two Meets This Weekend

TRACK AND FIELD: SUU will host the first of two collegiate meets this year at Eccles Coliseum when the Thunderbirds welcome Utah Valley, Utah, Idaho State and UNLV to the SUU Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Field events are slated to begin at 2 p.m., with the track events beginning at 4 p.m.

The meet will be a precursor to The Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships, scheduled May 14-16 at Cedar City. The event will be the first time since 2004 that the Thunderbirds have hosted the conference track and field championships in Cedar City.

The SUU Invitational has continued to grow from last year when the meet was just a dual meet between the Thunderbirds and Utah Valley. The five teams mark the largest field the SUU Invitational has ever had.

Southern Utah already has eight student-athletes slated to compete at the NCAA Western Regional Championships at the end of May and will be looking for more qualifying marks this weekend.